Don’t be far from me, for trouble is near. For there is no one to help.
Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
They open their mouths wide against me, lions tearing prey and roaring.
Parallel Translations
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Don’t be far from me, for trouble is near. For there is no one to help.
Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
They open their mouths wide against me, lions tearing prey and roaring.
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Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
Show all 3 translations
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(22-12) Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
(22-13) Many bulls have encompassed me; strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
(22-14) They open wide their mouth against me, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
Cross-references (36)
- Amos 4:1-3 (v12) Listen to this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who tell their…
- Acts 4:27 (v12) “For truly, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together against your holy servant,…
- Psalms 68:30 (v12) Rebuke the wild animal of the reeds, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples. Being humbled, may it bring bars of…
- Psalms 71:12 (v11) God, don’t be far from me. My God, hurry to help me.
- Matthew 27:1 (v12) Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
Show all 36 cross-references
- Psalms 10:1 (v11) Why do you stand far off, Yahweh? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
- Psalms 72:12 (v11) For he will deliver the needy when he cries; the poor, who has no helper.
- John 16:32 (v11) Behold, the time is coming, yes, and has now come, that you will be scattered, everyone to his own place, and you will leave me alone. Yet…
- Hebrews 5:7 (v11) He, in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers and petitions with strong crying and tears to him who was able to save him from…
- 1 Peter 5:8 (v13) Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
- Psalms 35:21 (v13) Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, “Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!”
- Psalms 38:21 (v11) Don’t forsake me, Yahweh. My God, don’t be far from me.
- Deuteronomy 32:14-15 (v12) butter from the herd, and milk from the flock, with fat of lambs, rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the finest of the wheat.…
- Job 16:10 (v13) They have gaped on me with their mouth. They have struck me on the cheek reproachfully. They gather themselves together against me.
- Psalms 17:12 (v13) He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
- Psalms 35:22 (v11) You have seen it, Yahweh. Don’t keep silent. Lord, don’t be far from me.
- Psalms 69:1-2 (v11) Save me, God, for the waters have come up to my neck! I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold. I have come into deep waters, where…
- Psalms 142:4-6 (v11) Look on my right, and see; for there is no one who is concerned for me. Refuge has fled from me. No one cares for my soul. I cried to you,…
- Lamentations 2:16 (v13) All your enemies have opened their mouth wide against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth. They say, “We have swallowed her up. Certainly…
- Lamentations 3:46 (v13) “All our enemies have opened their mouth wide against us.
- Ezekiel 39:18 (v12) You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bulls, all of…
- Psalms 13:1-3 (v11) How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having…
- Psalms 69:18 (v11) Draw near to my soul and redeem it. Ransom me because of my enemies.
- Isaiah 63:5 (v11) I looked, and there was no one to help; and I wondered that there was no one to uphold. Therefore my own arm brought salvation to me. My…
- Jeremiah 50:11 (v12) “Because you are glad, because you rejoice, O you who plunder my heritage, because you are wanton as a heifer that treads out the grain,…
- Matthew 26:3-4 (v13) Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, who was called…
- Matthew 26:56 (v11) But all this has happened that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.
- Matthew 26:59-65 (v13) Now the chief priests, the elders, and the whole council sought false testimony against Jesus, that they might put him to death; and they…
- Deuteronomy 32:36 (v11) For Yahweh will judge his people, and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone; that there is no one…
- 2 Kings 14:26 (v11) For Yahweh saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter; for all, slave and free, and there was no helper for Israel.
- Psalms 7:2 (v13) lest they tear apart my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there is no one to deliver.
- Psalms 22:7 (v13) All those who see me mock me. They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying,
- Psalms 22:21 (v13) Save me from the lion’s mouth! Yes, you have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen.
- Psalms 35:17 (v13) Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my soul from their destruction, my precious life from the lions.
- Isaiah 34:7 (v12) The wild oxen will come down with them, and the young bulls with the mighty bulls; and their land will be drunken with blood, and their…
- Ezekiel 22:27-28 (v13) Her princes within it are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain. Her…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv11–12 11. Depart not far from me. Here he employs…
11. Depart not far from me. Here he employs another argument to induce God to show him mercy, alleging that he is sorely pressed and hemmed in by the greatest distress. He doubtless set before his eyes the office which the Scriptures every where attribute to God of succouring the miserable, and of being the more ready to help us the more we are afflicted. Even despair itself, therefore, served as a ladder to elevate his mind to the exercise of devout and fervent prayer. In like manner, the feeling we have of our afflictions should excite us to take shelter under the wings of God, that by granting us his aid, he may show that he takes a deep interest in our welfare.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v12 He meaneth, that his enemies were so fat, proud,…
He meaneth, that his enemies were so fat, proud, and cruel, that they were rather beasts than men.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Psa 22:11 Be not far from me; for trouble…
Psa 22:11 Be not far from me; for trouble [is] near; for [there is] none to help.
Ver. 11. Be not far from me, for trouble is near] And so it is high time for thee to put forth a helping hand. Hominibus profanis mirabilis videtur haec ratio, to profane persons, this seemeth to be a strange reason, saith an interpreter; but it is a very good one, as this prophet knew, who therefore makes it his plea.
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For there is none to help] Set in, therefore, O Lord, and help, at a dead lift, poor me, who am forsaken of all other hopes.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Be not far from me, to wit, as to…
Be not far from me, to wit, as to affection and succour.
Trouble is near at hand, and ready to swallow me up; and therefore if thou dost not speedily deliver me, it will be too late; which is an argument that David oft useth, as Psa 6:5; 88:11, &c.
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There is none to help; thy help therefore will be the more seasonable, because it is most hecessary, and thou wilt have the more of glory by it, because it will appear that it is thy work alone.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v11 In these verses we have Christ suffering and Christ…
In these verses we have Christ suffering and Christ praying, by which we are directed to look for crosses and to look up to God under them.
I. Here is Christ suffering. David indeed was often in trouble, and beset with enemies; but many of the particulars here specified are such as were never true of David, and therefore must be appropriated to Christ in the depth of his humiliation.
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1. He is here deserted by his friends: Trouble and distress are near, and there is none to help, none to uphold, Psa 22:11. He trod the wine-press alone; for all his disciples forsook him and fled. It is God's honour to help when all other helps and succours fail.
2. He is here insulted and surrounded by his enemies, such as were of a higher rank, who for their strength and fury, are compared to bulls, strong bulls of Bashan (Psa 22:12), fat and fed to the full, haughty and sour; such were the chief priests and elders that persecuted Christ; and others of a lower rank, who are compared to dogs (Psa 22:16), filthy and greedy, and unwearied in running him down. There was an assembly of the wicked plotting against him (Psa 22:16); for the chief priests sat in council, to consult of ways and means to take Christ. These enemies were numerous and unanimous: "Many, and those of different and clashing interests among themselves, as Herod and Pilate, have agreed to compass me. They have carried their plot far, and seem to have gained their point, for they have beset me round, Psa 22:12. They have enclosed me, Psa 22:16. They are formidable and threatening (Psa 22:13): They gaped upon me with their mouths, to show me that they would swallow me up; and this with as much strength and fierceness as a roaring ravening lion leaps upon his prey."
3. He is here crucified. The very manner of his death is described, though never in use among the Jews: They pierced my hands and my feet (Psa 22:16), which were nailed to the accursed tree, and the whole body left so to hang, the effect of which must needs be the most exquisite pain and torture. There is no one passage in all the Old Testament which the Jews have so industriously corrupted as this, because it is such an eminent prediction of the death of Christ and was so exactly fulfilled.
4. He is here dying (Psa 22:14, Psa 22:15), dying in pain and anguish, because he was to satisfy for sin, which brought in pain, and for which we must otherwise have lain in everlasting anguish. Here is, (1.) The dissolution of the whole frame of his body: I am poured out like water, weak as water, and yielding to the power of death, emptying himself of all the supports of his human nature. (2.) The dislocation of his bones. Care was taken that not one of them should be broken (Joh 19:36), but they were all out of joint by the violent stretching of his body upon the cross as upon a rack. Or it may denote the fear that seized him in his agony in the garden, when he began to be sore amazed, the effect of which perhaps was (as sometimes it has been of great fear, Dan 5:6), that the joints of his loins were loosed and his knees smote one against another. His bones were put out of joint that he might put the whole creation into joint again, which sin had put out of joint, and might make our broken bones to rejoice. (3.) The colliquation of his spirits: My heart is like wax, melted to receive the impressions of God's wrath against the sins he undertook to satisfy for, melting away like the vitals of a dying man; and, as this satisfied for the hardness of our hearts, so the consideration of it should help to soften them. When Job speaks of his inward trouble he says, The Almighty makes my heart soft, Job 23:16, and see Psa 58:2. (4.) The failing of his natural force: My strength is dried up; so that he became parched and brittle like a potsherd, the radical moisture being wasted by the fire of divine wrath preying upon his spirits. Who then can stand before God's anger? Or who knows the power of it? If this was done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry? (5.) The clamminess of his mouth, a usual symptom of approaching death: My tongue cleaveth to my jaws; this was fulfilled both in his thirst upon the cross (Joh 19:28) and in his silence under his sufferings; for, as a sheep before the shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth, nor objected against any thing done to him. (6.) His giving up the ghost: "Thou hast brought me to the dust of death; I am just ready to drop into the grave;" for nothing less would satisfy divine justice. The life of the sinner was forfeited, and therefore the life of the sacrifice must be the ransom for it. The sentence of death passed upon Adam was thus expressed: Unto dust thou shalt return. And therefore Christ, having an eye to that sentence in his obedience to death, here uses a similar expression: Thou hast brought me to the dust of death.
5. He was stripped. The shame of nakedness was the immediate consequence of sin; and therefore our Lord Jesus was stripped of his clothes, when he was crucified, that he might clothe us with the robe of his righteousness, and that the shame of our nakedness might not appear. Now here we are told, (1.) How his body looked when it was thus stripped: I may tell all my bones, Psa 22:17. His blessed body was lean and emaciated with labour, grief, and fasting, during the whole course of his ministry, which made him look as if he was nearly 50 years old when he was yet but 33, as we find, Joh 8:57. His wrinkles now witnessed for him that he was far from being what was called, a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber. Or his bones might be numbered, because his body was distended upon the cross, which made it easy to count his ribs. They look and stare upon me, that is, my bones do, being distorted, and having no flesh to cover them, as Job says (Job 16:8), My leanness, rising up in me, beareth witness to my face. Or "the standers by, the passers by, are amazed to see my bones start out thus; and, instead of pitying me, are pleased even with such a rueful spectacle." (2.) What they did with his clothes, which they took from him (Psa 22:18): They parted my garments among them, to every soldier a part, and upon my vesture, the seamless coat, do they cast lots. This very circumstance was exactly fulfilled, Joh 19:23, Joh 19:24. And though it was no great instance of Christ's suffering, yet it is a great instance of the fulfilling of the scripture in him. Thus it was written, and therefore thus it behoved Christ to suffer. Let this therefore confirm our faith in him as the true Messiah, and inflame our love to him as the best of friends, who loved us and suffered all this for us.
II. Here is Christ praying, and with that supporting himself under the burden of his sufferings. Christ, in his agony, prayed earnestly, prayed that the cup might pass from him. When the prince of this world with his terrors set upon him, gaped upon him as a roaring lion, he fell upon the ground and prayed. And of that David's praying here was a type. He calls God his strength, Psa 22:19. When we cannot rejoice in God as our song, yet let us stay ourselves upon him as out strength, and take the comfort of spiritual supports when we cannot come at spiritual delights. He prays, 1. That God would be with him, and not set himself at a distance from him: Be not thou far from me (Psa 22:11), and again, Psa 22:19. "Whoever stands aloof from my sore, Lord, do not thou." The nearness of trouble should quicken us to draw near to God and then we may hope that he will draw near to us. 2. That he would help him and make haste to help him, help him to bear up under his troubles, that he might not fail nor be discouraged, that he might neither shrink from his undertaking no sink under it. And the Father heard him in that he feared (Heb 5:7) and enabled him to go through with his work. 3. That he would deliver him and save him, Psa 22:20, Psa 22:21. (1.) Observe what the jewel is which he is in care for, "The safety of my soul, my darling; let that be redeemed from the power of the grave, Psa 49:15. Father, into thy hands I commit that, to be conveyed safely to paradise." The psalmist here calls his soul his darling, his only one (so the word is): "My soul is my only one. I have but one soul to take care of, and therefore the greater is my shame if I neglect it and the greater will the loss be if I let it perish. Being my only one, it ought to be my darling, for the eternal welfare of which I ought to be deeply concerned. I do not use my soul as my darling, unless I take care to preserve it from every thing that would hurt it and to provide all necessaries for it, and be entirely tender of its welfare." (2.) Observe what the danger is from which he prays to be delivered, from the sword, the flaming sword of divine wrath, which turns every way. This he dreaded more than any thing, Gen 3:24. God's anger was the wormwood and the gall in the bitter cup that was put into his hands. "O deliver my soul from that. Lord, though I lose my life, let me not lose thy love. Save me from the power of the dog, and from the lion's mouth." This seems to be meant of Satan, that old enemy who bruised the heel of the seed of the woman, the prince of this world, with whom he was to engage in close combat and whom he saw coming, Joh 14:30. "Lord, save me from being overpowered by his terrors." He pleads, "Thou hast formerly heard me from the horns of the unicorn," that is, "saved me from him in answer to my prayer." This may refer to the victory Christ had obtained over Satan and his temptations (Mt. 4), when the devil left him for a season (Luk 4:13), but now returned in another manner to attack him with his terrors. "Lord, thou gavest me the victory then, give it me now, that I may spoil principalities and powers, and cast out the prince of this world." Has God delivered us from the horns of the unicorn, that we be not tossed? Let that encourage us to hope that we shall be delivered from the lion's mouth, that we be not torn. He that has delivered doth and will deliver. This prayer of Christ, no doubt, was answered, for the Father heard him always. And, though he did not deliver him from death, yet he suffered him not to see corruption, but, the third day, raised him out of the dust of death, which was a greater instance of God's favour to him than if he had helped him down from the cross; for that would have hindered his undertaking, whereas his resurrection crowned it.
In singing this we should meditate on the sufferings and resurrection of Christ till we experience in our own souls the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Be not far from me,.... Who had been so…
Be not far from me,.... Who had been so near unto him, as to take him out of the womb, and to take the care of him ever since; this is to be understood not with respect to the omnipresence of God, who is everywhere, and is not far from any of us; but of his presence, which was now withdrawn from Christ, and he was filled with a sense of divine wrath, and with sorrow and distress; and also of his powerful and assisting presence which he had promised, and Christ expected, and believed he should have, as he had: the reasons for it follow:
for trouble is near; Satan was marching towards him with his principalities and powers, to attack him in the garden and on the cross; Judas, one of his own disciples, was at hand to betray him; a multitude with swords and staves were about to seize him; the sins and chastisement of his people were just going to be laid upon him; the sword of justice was awaked against him, ready to give the blow; the hour of death was near, he was brought to the dust of it, as in Psa 22:15. A second reason is given,
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for there is none to help; none among his disciples: one of them was to betray him, another to deny him, and all to forsake him and flee from him, as they did; nor any among the angels in heaven; for though they ministered to him in the wilderness, and strengthened him in the garden, there were none near him on the cross, that it might be manifest that salvation was wrought out alone by him, Isa 63:5; and, indeed, if any of these had been willing to have helped him, it was not in their power to do it, none but God could; and therefore he applies to him, who had promised and was as good as his word, Isa 49:8.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v12 Bulls - Wicked and violent, and potent enemies; for…
Bulls - Wicked and violent, and potent enemies; for such are so called, Ezek xxxix, 18 Amos iv, 1. Of Bashan - As the cattle there bred were, and therefore fierce and furious.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Verse 11. Be not far from me; for trouble…
Verse 11. Be not far from me; for trouble is near] A present God is a present blessing. We always need the Divine help; but more especially when troubles and trials are at hand.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v11 Psa 22:11-13. Be not far from me — As…
Psa 22:11-13. Be not far from me — As to affection and succour; for trouble is near — At hand, and ready to swallow me up; for there is none to help — Thy help therefore will be the more seasonable, because it is most necessary, and thou wilt have the more glory by it, because it will appear that it is thy work alone. Many bulls have compassed me — Wicked, violent, and potent enemies, for such are so called, Eze 39:18; Amo 4:1. Strong bulls of Bashan — Fat and lusty, as the cattle there bred were, and therefore fierce and furious. “By these,” says Dr. Dodd, “are represented the haughty senators, the chief priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, and the other great men of Judea; who, after having resolved upon his death, Psa 2:2, were so insolent as to make their appearance about his cross, and to insult him with their mockeries.” They gaped upon me with their mouths — To tear and devour me, as the following metaphor explains it.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Be not far from me - Do not withdraw…
Be not far from me - Do not withdraw from me; do not leave or forsake me.
For trouble is near - Near, in the sense that deep sorrow has come upon me; near, in the sense that I am approaching a dreadful death.
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For there is none to help - Margin, as in Hebrew, “not a helper.” There were those who would have helped, but they could not; there were those who could have helped, but they would not. His friends that stood around the cross were unable to aid him; his foes were unwilling to do it; and he was left to suffer unhelped.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv11–12 From this statement of reasons for the appeal, he…
From this statement of reasons for the appeal, he renews it, pleading his double extremity, the nearness of trouble, and the absence of a helper.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv11–13 11. Contains two urgent reasons for immediate help.
11. Contains two urgent reasons for immediate help.
None to help— Hebrew, Because there is not a helper. See Isa_63:3; Isa_63:5. Luther strikingly observes, “that the more despised and forsaken a man is, the nearer and more gracious God is to him.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv11–13 11. Be not far from me] The expostulation of…
11. Be not far from me] The expostulation of Psa_22:1 is turned into a prayer, again repeated in Psa_22:19. He urges his plea on the double ground that while Jehovah still stands afar off in seeming indifference, distress is close at hand, and there is no other helper to whom he can look.
11–21. The Psalmist pleads for help with intenser earnestness. The virulence of his foes increases. Strength and endurance are exhausted.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv12–13 (12) Bulls of Bashan.—For “Bashan” see Num_21:33; for its…
(12) Bulls of Bashan.—For “Bashan” see Num_21:33; for its pastures and cattle, comp. Deu_32:14, and for the figures, Amo_4:1. Instead of “fat bulls,” the LXX. and Vulgate paraphrase “strong ones of Bashan.” The point of the comparison lies in the wantonness and insolence of pampered pride, displayed by the minions of fortune.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Be not far from me. The considerations dwelt upon…
Be not far from me. The considerations dwelt upon in vers. 3-5, and again in vers. 9, 10, have removed the sense of desertion expressed in ver. 1; and the Sufferer can now confidently call on God to help him. "Be not far from me," he says, for trouble is near. The time is come when aid is most urgently required. For there is none to help; literally, not a helper. David himself had never been in such straits. He had always had friends and followers. Under Saul"s persecution he had a friend in Jonathan; he was supported by his father and his brethren; (1Sa_22:1) in a short time he found himself at the head of four hundred, (1Sa_22:2) and then of six hundred men. (1Sa_25:13) In Absalom"s rebellion there remained faithful to him the priestly tribe (2Sa_15:24) and the Gibborim, (2Sa_15:18) and others to the number of some thousands. (2Sa_18:4) But he whom David prefigured, his Antitype, was deseeded, was alone the disciples forsook him and fled" (Mat_26:56) he was truly one that "had no helper.
Vers. 11-21. Prayer in suffering.
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The persecuted exile continues to speak of his sufferings, but seems to rise up out of the despair of the first verse into the faith implied in prayer. Much of the suffering here described, if not productive, was at least typical , of the suffering of Christ. An argument is still going on in the sufferer"s mind as to whether God had finally forsaken him or not. He has been trying in the first ten verses to argue down the feeling, but has not yet succeeded; and now he breaks out into prayer, driven by the urgency of the crisis into which he has come.
I THE ARGUMENT OF THE PRAYER. The general argument is stated in the eleventh verse. Trouble was near, and there was none to help; it had come to the last extremity with him, and not to help now would be completely and finally to forsake. The particulars of the argument are:
1. The strength and fury of his persecutors. (Vers. 12, 13, 16) They are compared to hulls and lions, the most formidable beasts a man can encounter. Further on his enemies are compared to wild dogs, that have enclosed and surrounded him. So that there is no escape except by the hand of God.
2. He has lost all strength of body and courage of heart. (Vers. 14-17) He sees no human means of escaping death. Severe trials from man and the Divine desertion (ver. 15) have "laid him in the dust of death.
3. The last act of indignity, previous to his death, has been accomplished. (Ver. 18) They strip him, and cast lots for his garments. So that this is a cry for deliverance, uttered in the very jaws of death itself. Of course, the psalm was written after the experiences it describes.
II THE PRAYER ITSELF. It Was begun at the eleventh verse, and now again breaks forth with full power (vers. 19-21).
1. He cries to the Infinite Strength to make haste to help him. This looks back to the second verse, where he complains, "Thou answerest me not;" and, if help is to come, it must come at once, for he is in the very article of death.
2. He is alone and unfriended among ruthless enemies. "My darling," equivalent to "my lovely person" (ver. 20). Utterly and solely dependent on God, as we shall be in dying.
3. The cry ends with an expression of assured confidence (Ver. 21, "Thou hast answered me.") "Thou hast heard me." At last he sees deliverance at hand, and knows that his prayer has been heard, and he has been delivered from death. S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Ver. 11. Be not far from me. This is…
Ver. 11. Be not far from me. This is the petition for which he has been using such varied and powerful pleas. His great woe was that God had forsaken him, his great prayer is that he would be near him. A lively sense of the divine presence is a mighty stay to the heart in times of distress.
For trouble is near; for there is none to help. There are two "fors, "as though faith gave a double knock at mercy's gate; that is a powerful prayer which is full of holy reasons and thoughtful arguments. The nearness of trouble is a weighty motive for divine help; this moves our heavenly Father's heart, and brings down his helping hand. It is his glory to be our very present help in trouble. Our Substitute had trouble in his inmost heart, for he said, "the waters have come in, even unto my soul; "well might he cry, "be not far from me." The absence of all other helpers is another telling plea. In our Lord's case none either could or would help him, it was needful that he should tread the winepress alone; yet was it a sore aggravation to find that all his disciples had forsaken him, and lover and friend were put far from him. There is an awfulness about absolute friendlessness which is crushing to the human mind, for man was not made to be alone, and is like a dismembered limb when he has to endure heart loneliness.
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Ver. 11. Be not far from me; for trouble is near; and so it is high time for thee to put forth a helping hand. Hominibus profanis mirabilis videtur haecratio, to profane persons, this seemeth to be a strange reason, saith an interpreter; but it is a very good one, as this prophet knew, who therefore makes it his plea. John Trapp.
Ver. 11. A saint's troubles, his arguments in prayer.
Psalms 22:12*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near;…
Psa_22:11
Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
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Help in trouble
In this Psalm a greater than David is here, even Christ. You cannot pay a visit to Calvary, while reading this Psalm, without being struck wire the record as giving a history of what subsequently took place in the sufferings and agony of our Lord.
I. First of all, let us look at the principle laid down--a mountains; yet when we approach them we find them to be mole hills, which we can easily step over with a little exercise of faith. But our precious Lord foreboded nothing but what He knew was near and would come to pass, and therefore when He cried out, Father, save Me from this hour, He immediately adds, For this cause came I to this hour; as if He withdrew the petition and would not escape the sorrow. But mark the most prominent feature of His distress was distress of soul. When we look at the fact that Divine wrath lay heavily upon His soul we wonder not that He cried out, Now am I troubled. And so there is distress of soul of which His disciples are the subjects.
1. In their first awakenings.
2. In their after conflicts.
3. But it is never, to the believer, judicial punishment as it was with Jesus. It was Divine wrath that lay upon Him.
4. And there were external assaults. The powers of darkness were let loose. His Church must expect the like. The world and the Church cannot agree, unless the Church will compromise her dignity, her purity, her spirituality, and cringe to the worlds carnal pursuits and carnal religion; then they may go on pretty well, hand in hand; but the curse of God will rest upon them both. A Christianity that brings you out from the world will be sure to bring upon you Satans rage and fiery darts and the worlds scorn. May you be able to make Moses choice, and choose rather to suffer affliction with, etc. Jesus told you it would be thus. Marvel not if the world hate you.
5. And the Church has yet another trouble near.
II. The appalling fact. There is none to help. Now this, so far as Christ is concerned, is a peculiar mercy. For if any had been with Him they would have shared the honour. And for us, too, it is often well that there should be none to help, for if there were we would turn to them and not to God.
III. The concentration of our expectations. For when all help is gone elsewhere there comes the cry, Be not Thou far from me. Oh! we live too low, we cleave to earth too much; but when we can soar, and mount as on eagles wings, gaze on the sun, and enjoy the smiling countenance of our covenant God, our troubles then are mere mole hills; if we look down on them at all we can hardly see them. (Joseph Irons.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v11 Do not be far away from me
Do not be far away from me
This can be stated in positive form. AT: "Come close to me" (See: Litotes)
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for trouble is near
The writer speaks about "trouble" as if it were an object that is near him. AT: "for my enemies are near me" (See: Metaphor)
there is no one to help
"there is no helper"
Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me
The writer speaks about his enemies as if they were bulls. This emphasizes how dangerous and powerful his enemies are. AT: "I have many enemies and they are like bulls that surround me; they are like strong bulls from Bashan that surround me" (See: Metaphor and Parallelism)
They open their mouths wide against me
The writer speaks about his enemies as if they were lions with the mouths open ready to eat him. His enemies may be speaking lies to discredit him. Or they may be threatening him and attacking him. (See: Metaphor)
like a roaring lion ripping its victim
The writer speaks about his enemies as if they were lions. This emphasizes how powerful and dangerous his enemies are. (See: Simile)
translationWords
trouble
cow
Bashan
lions
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v12 22:12-18 The psalmist returns to expressing his anguish and…
22:12-18 The psalmist returns to expressing his anguish and suffering (see 22:1-2, 6-8). His trouble comes from human beings who act like beasts.
22:12 Bashan, a region known for its herds and vegetation, produced strong bulls (68:30).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.